


ash and bones

by azurevii



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, M/M, Male Pronouns for Asra (The Arcana), Red Plague (The Arcana), The Lazaret (The Arcana)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24659623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azurevii/pseuds/azurevii
Summary: Asra arrives at the Lazaret after receiving the news that the plague had got to you.
Relationships: Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana), Asra (The Arcana) & Reader, Asra (The Arcana)/Reader, Asra (The Arcana)/You
Comments: 5
Kudos: 85





	ash and bones

**Author's Note:**

> What is proofreading
> 
> I wrote this fic after finishing Asra's route. He's a precious little bean.

By the time Asra had arrived at Vesuvia, night had already casted its shadow from above. Faust had his head up in the air, alerted.

Even at night, Vesuvia wasn't used to be this eerily empty. The air was moist and still. It almost made Asra hard to breathe. 

The first stop he made was the shop. You probably wouldn't be there, but he still wanted to see for himself. 

It's locked. No one was inside.

Asra sighed a shuddering breath before turning around. 

"Friend?" Faust asked.

He found himself at a loss of words. 

"Maybe in the hospital," He said and turned a corner, marching through the market and heading to the place. He hadn't even made it halfway through when someone grabbed the back of his robe.

The baker was standing behind, looking just as shocked as Asra.

"You got my letter," He sighed, relieved for a moment before a serious expression took over. "Where have you been?"

"I've been … traveling," Asra stuttered, then widened his eyes. "Where're they?"

When Selasi didn't reply immediately, unease stirred in his chest. Faust twisted her body so she was looking at the baker upside down. "Where?" She whispered. 

Selasi finally sighed as his eyes roamed everywhere except Asra. "You're …" His voice was dripping with lament, along with a hint of disappointment. Was it directed to him?

"You're too late,"

The words hung in the air for a long, painful moment before Asra registered the meaning. Tears were already filling in his eyes as he clutched the shorter's shoulders.

"What do you mean too late?" His voice was so weak when he spoke that his words were almost inaudible. Selasi's eyes shimmered with hot tears as he looked off at the distance.

"…They were shipped to Lazaret this morning."

Faust shuddered and hid behind Asra's arm. "Fire…"

You were shipped, but you didn't necessarily have to be dead. Maybe you're still there…

"Thank you," Asra pulled the old man into a tight hug before running off to the pier.  


The vigorous water brought the boat closer and closer to the isolated island, the waves splashing at the sides. Faust had hidden completely inside Asra's robe. A cool, thick fog settled around the boat, not giving Asra the chance to prepare himself for whatever was coming ahead. It faded away, though, after a few moment, and the shade of the solemn island came into view.

Even from far away, he could feel the heaviness of the lost souls in the air.

Faust seemed worried. Asra let his shoulders relax for a moment, for the first time thinking positively for the sake of his friend.

"They will be okay," he reassured the both of them. Mainly because he wasn't sure what he would do if you weren't. 

The cremation must've stopped for the night, for there was no smoke coming out from the tower on the land. Two guards were standing by two enormous trees. Asra tensed up, but loosened when he realized they were both asleep. He gingerly made his way onto the island without attracting too much attention.

The smell of ash and slightly burnt meat flushed Asra's noses. He found himself gagging at the smell, but suppressed the feeling as he continued to step inside. He was well aware that it were the ashes and burnt corpses that he was stepping on, but the urge to rescue you was far more important that he couldn't bring himself to care about anything else.

Both him and Faust reached out and scanned for your magic aura, but to no avail. There was no trace of your magic. Asra's heart dropped to his toes, and his eyes welled up again as he feared the possibility of you already gone.

Faust squeezed his arm, offering a silent support.

The two continued to travel across the land of the dead until Faust hissed suddenly. Asra halted and turned to look at her.

"Near!" Faust said excitedly. Asra immediately outstretched his own magic. As expected, he picked up the familiar sensation of yours...

Except that it was cold and hollow, like an empty shell. The magic that he could detect was just the remnant of what had been alive. Asra had known you for a long time, and he had never once felt your power this empty before, even when he was far away. Your power faltered like a dying candle, struggling to keep itself alive.

"No…" Asra followed your aura, but there was nothing around him except burnt corpses and the wails of the dead that lingered in the air. The moon was the only light he had, for he couldn't bother to illuminate his path himself.

He had half expected to see you, still alive and whole amidst the crimson ground around him, and then he would envelop you in a hug and bring you home, but nothing alive was in sight. Not even a bug.

Even though your magic was fading out, Asra could still feel it growing stronger as he neared the source. His knees were threatening to give out. His mind was yelling incomprehensible warnings at him, his fingers were trembling against his robe. 

Then the tucking stopped. He was right next to you now.

Your name managed to escape his lips before his knees wobbled.

Then he dug. He dug until his fingers bled, until all he could find were ashes and bones, until Faust had to wrap herself around his hand to stop him. That's when the truth finally settled in -

You're gone. He was too late. It's all his fault.

Soil and blood lined the edges of his nails. Sweat, mixed with tears, rolled down his face and wet the ground. Faust hadn't said a thing. There was only one thought in Asra's mind.

Guilt.

If he had been there for you … if he had put more effort into persuading you to leave … hell, why _had_ he left knowing that you would be alone surrounding by death and fear?

Your magic pulsed. Asra hiccuped as his chest calmed, feeling your power under his hands. It was reaching out for him despite not having a host anymore. 

It crawled up his arm, his neck, then his eyes. Asra sighed before allowing himself to sink into the vision.  


_Your mind swam. Your eyes were open, but you weren't quite seeing. Chapped lips and raw throat. Your sides were pressed with the other people that were waiting to be executed. The only thing you could sense was the smell of roast meat._

_The guards were yelling as they manhandled the ill, throwing them into the giant pit of fire. You tilted your head to see that the number of people ahead of you was reducing. It wouldn't be long now._

_Was it useless that you're still hopeful? You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to summon your magic. It was there, but it was also too far away for you to reach._

_It's just a nightmare, you prayed. I'll wake up, and Asra will be there, and we will carry on like nothing's ever happened._

_The thought of Asra alone made your eyes water. It was a miracle that there was still water coming out of you, considering how dehydrated you were._

_The shouting was even closer now._

_You should've listened to him and left when you had the chance._ Look at where you are now.

_Eyes glued at the roof of the building, you half expected Asra's face to come into view, just the way it had always been. No matter where he was, he would always come to your aid and save you from all kinds of demons and misfortunes._

_Then he would hold you in his arms and whisper things you couldn't make out. His body was always warm, like lying under the sun on a grass field. He wouldn't let go until your breath soothed and the tears stopped flowing, then he would plant loving kisses across your face, and everything would be fine again._

_Does he even know about what happened to you?_

_You choked on the overflowing tears. Your hands were too numb to wipe them, so you just let them wet your cheeks, your jaw, then your neck. Your throat strained the more you sobbed._

_"Come on! Speed up! Speed up!" The guards yelled. They sounded so close that you shuddered in fear._

_Instead, you let your mind drift off to things that you loved. The smell of your shop, the coziness of your soft bed, Faust's head nudging your cheek, Selasi's pumpkin spice bread and all the other heavenly pastries. The warmth of people around you, the deck of tarot cards, Asra's lilac eyes and snowy hair that always looked messy and unsettled. Asra's cheery laugh and the souvenirs that he had brought back from his many trips…_

_The person beside you was pried away._

_Asra's magic that felt like crisp breezes and the carefree, cool lake in the forest on the mountain._

_How will he feel after you're gone?_

_Two pairs of rough hands lifted you up. The guards dragged you away, and you could feel the heat and the sizzling fire roaring behind you. Your head fell back with your eyes closed. Then, without any warning, you were in the air. There was no one manhandling you ; no screams ; no dying bodies next to you._

_Then heat burned your skin until you were entirely swallowed._  


It's gone. Your magic was gone, for good. All that's left of you had been reduced to soil. Footsteps and yells echoed from behind Asra, but his legs had given up on him for a long moment now. Two hands reached under his armpits and lifted him up, awfully familiar to how you had been thrown into your doom.

"Get off the island!" 

You were gone, and he hadn't been there for you.  
  
  
  
  



End file.
